​The co-creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have commented on the kerfluffle that is Michael Bay's Teenage Alien Ninja Non-Turtles. As the people who created the TMNT in the first place -- and then sold out the concept over and over again, repeatedly, letting anyone do pretty much anything to the property without the slightest concern -- I felt it was worth posting their thoughts. First, Kevin Eastman:

Hey Guys, Sorry to have been away for so long--completely swamped
with work--but it is some pretty exciting stuff. I had been invited to
check out the TMNT film development by my friend Scott Mednick over the
years, and a while back had a full look behind the curtian at what
writers Appelbaum and Nemec, director Liebesman, and producer Bay are
doing--and trust me--it IS AWESOME. I'm officially on board, and will
share more as I'm allowed... thanks all!"

A few people -- who don't seem to understand that I am no longer in
control of the property -- want me to stop this, somehow. Obviously, I
can't do that, even if I wanted to.

But I would actually encourage TMNT fans to swallow the "chill pill"
Mr. Bay recently suggested they take, and wait and see what might come
out of this seemingly ill-conceived plan. It's possible that with enough
truly creative brainpower applied to this idea, it might actually work.
I'm not saying it's probable, or even somewhat likely... but it IS
possible.

He then goes on to rant about Venus di Milo and how having the Turtles be aliens is a good idea because it allows movie makers to create as many new Turtles as possible, as if that was a good thing, or as if that was ever the issue. Still, I feel there's a key idea in Laird's comments that people haven't quite realized:

It's possible that with enough
truly creative brainpower applied to this idea, it [making them aliens] might actually work.

Actually, I agree with Laird. If a truly creative, smart person were in charge of TMNT, I bet they could make the Turtles aliens in a way that would satiate fans and wow new audiences. However, it's worth remember that this is the guy in charge of the TMNT movie:

​The words "Michael Bay" and "truly creative brainpower" are not words that will ever be associated together, unless they show up as a FIND THE ANTONYM question on the SATs. So forgive me if I feel we might as well write off the upcoming TMNT movie as "fucked." (Via /Film and ToyNewsI)

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Oi TR, gotta check your facts on this one. he is being sarcastic in his blog post, read his follow up comments, he says he didn't realize people would take it literally. please read his full comments. http://peterlairdstmntblog.blo...

"But as a way to explain any aspect of the backstory of TMNT, I think it is awful and unnecessary." Peter Laird

Laird isn't actually supporting Bay, If people actually read the whole thing they'd know that. He clearly states that he thinks a planet of turtles could be a good idea just not for TMNT all these people claiming he supports the idea need to work on their reading comprehension

Some people seem to be mis-characterizing Peter Laird's response here...it appears to have been at least 90% fueled by sarcasm.

Here's a later comment of his on the same post: "Did you really get out of what I wrote that I in any way, shape or form LIKE the idea of a planet of Turtles? If so, I guess I have to re-think how I express myself.

Just so it's absolutely clear -- I think a planet of turtles is not, in and of itself, a bad idea for some kind of science fiction/fantasy story. But as a way to explain any aspect of the backstory of TMNT, I think it is awful and unnecessary.

Of course, we have no idea at this point if the plan is to have a planet of Turtles. It's probably a good idea to wait and see. -- PL"

Well, one things for sure, making Highlander an Alien didn't help that franchise. Dear god, no.

Waitaminute! .... He's making Transformers 4 and working on the turtle film..... Oh dear god!!!Wasn't there a TMNT toy that had the turtles transform into their Van and such, kinda like the star wars transformer toys? oh, please don't let it be so!!

sooo they'll be called Teenage Alien Ninja Aliens? because turtles aren't alien. unless they are in this movie. unless they're shapeshifters and they scan some turtles and mutate into them ( like transformers did with the cars)

fuck. i just realized that he's basically going to attach himself to every nerd franchise and up the awesome, explosions and edginess......fuck. he's not even a nerd. it would be like if Sam Raimi dedicated himself to making political dramas the rest of his life......it's just not what the fans want.

"He then goes on to rant about... how having the Turtles be aliens is a good idea because it allows movie makers to create as many new Turtles as possible, as if that was a good thing, or as if that was ever the issue."

- Rob

"the reason I say it could be a "genius" idea is that -- for the first time -- someone has come up with a way to have as many freakin' Turtles as they want. I mean, if the TMNT are actually members of an alien race, there could be a whole PLANET of them!

Joy."

-Kevin Laird

To be fair to Laird, i think Rob failed to detect the sarcasm in Laird's post about having more turtles being a good thing. Laird states that he suspects the reason Bay went for the alien origin was so that there could be more than 4 turtles (and hence a wider range of toys to sell i guess?). Laird may or may not be correct, but that is what he believes.

Michael Bay was also quoted as saying that kids these days just don't recognize the names of Rennaissance painters. Besides, why would giant aliens from space (yeah, they're 12 feet tall now) even know the names of the old masters? Instead, they'll choose their names based upon contemporary members of pop culture.

So they'll now be Homer, Sheen, Lohan, and Bieber. In an ironic twist, Justin Bieber will be doing the voice of Homer.

Also, April O'Neal will now be a prostitute. Master Spliner is her pimp.

I swear this shit just writes itself. I should quit before I accidentally get hired by Michael Bay.

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird pissed away their integrity and self-respect years ago, they've become sell-outs; plain and simple. Their sale of the rights to the creation to Nickelodeon stands as further proof of this fact. Since Kevin was said to given the rubber stamp of approval to Venus DeMilo and Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, I have no doubt he'll go along with the Turtles being aliens.

In the same article, Laird says he hates the idea of a fifth turtle. He's said it for years, and made it a policy never to discuss the abomination that is Venus De Milo. Now I always thought it was because a fifth one would mess up the chemistry of the four, make them less unique. As he says, the idea is "creatively bankrupt", and I agree with him.

Then later in the same damn post, he writes that he thinks the alien TMNT is a good idea, for the sole reason that it provides a more logical reason (though a stupid one on principle) to introduce more turtles. This is the sole reason he says this, the sole reason it appeals to him.

That's just... That's just...

Fucking odd.

So it wasn't that more turtles is a stupid idea on principle, but that the ways that they've been shoved in are marginally more stupid than making them aliens of the turtle's race? Just another reason that the following Bay TMNT movie will be a clusterfuck of ComicsNix proportions.

(and while I'm on my soapbox, can we please let the franchise move on from the fun and nostalgic, but ultimately mediocre (especially in comparison to the comics and 2003 series) 80s series?)

You know the more I think of it the more I have to say that we are responsible for this...

No matter what all of us will see this movie, in many cases more than once because of how much it infuriates us; on top of that the cluster of mindless drones who go to see every movie released will go see it as well as parents who grew up with TMNT but never really watched it bringing their kids with the delusion that it was good when they were young why wouldn't it be now.

That's how these movies end up being so massive and why studios keep handing them over to Bay to "alienate" both the properties and their fans. I mean hell they gave him a movie based around Battleship for god's sake. The only way we can actually stop this trend of destructive revisions of our favorite IP's is by boycotting, rallying, and making an example that movies are for the entertained far more than the entertainers.

I'm a little curious. Michael Bay said earlier, "Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex backstory." Now from both of these quotes, Eastman and Laird aren't that involved with this movie. Who was he talking about? Or is Bay just lying to us?

is this your first day on the internet? actually sometimes movies and other properties make changes based on fan outcry. just look at mass effect 3's ending DLC. or wonder woman's pants/boots debacle. or the direction certain shows make like the walking dead

For a moment, I thought you were being completely serious and that this was actually happening. Bay saying exactly that and those being the names. I was seconds away from flipping my desk over in nerd rage.

The 80s series was good at first but went on for far too long. The first two seasons would have been a good place to stop. There was still an edge to the action scenes (as much as you were going to get in a late-80s show, anyway) and the jokes were still good. After that, you could tell they didn't care anymore and were just cranking it out.

The 2003 series was good but also overrated, imho. I think that, like Avatar, it reaped the benefits of looking much better than it actually was in comparison to the glut of fucking horrible shit that was out there at the same time.Personally, I like the tone of the 80s series more. The older I get, the less I enjoy "dark n gritty" kids' shows. And, well, dammit, 80s April O'Neil will always have a special place in my heart ... as the cartoon character I had a crush on when I found out I could fap.

I think the point of what he was saying is "we've tried a few times to come up with ways to bring in new turtles without ruining the original four, and now he's found a really easy way to bring in as many as he wants!" but not actually saying it's a good idea, just saying they found a good way to get unlimited turtles. It's like saying Marvel was smart by making mutant powers something that can happen during puberty in almost anyone, so it's an easy way to get as many mutants as they want instead of coming up with DC style origin stories. But that's not to say its a good idea to just make hundreds of mutants because you can. That's how I see his comments anyways. Sort of a round about way of not having to admit the whole idea is bad in general.

Eastman says he's "officially on board", meaning he's privy to what they're doing. More than likely saying while he can see what they're up to, he has to shut up about it, sit in a corner and just observe, making him a useless proxy.

I agree with Wataa. Laird isn't saying the idea of the Turtles as aliens is good, or that having more than four Turtles is good. He's just saying that, if they WANTED to have more than four Turtles, they've set themselves up with a whole freaking PLANET, thus it's a "good" idea.

It's like saying "Personally, I don't agree with killing children. But, if that's what Michael Bay wants to do, then it'd be a "good" idea to burn down a school." He doesn't agree with the idea, but if that's their M.O., then they've set up a nice scenario to carry it out.

I'd say terrifying actually. If the trent of people having terrible taste keeps up, even some random art house/indie movie won't do without comedy sidekick Shia Lebeef (ugh... or John Torturro's ass in a thong), no matter what skills or power the protagonist has he will HAVE TO be assisted a special Police/Army Unit (consiting of various stereotypes), random shots of Pets fucking, lots and lots of that good knee slapping Bay humor.Action scenes shot so close up that you won't know what the fuck just happened (while characters scream: No,no, no, no/Go, go, go, go). And last but not least plot holes so big you could hide Trypticon in them.

It's from the TV show "Eastbound & Down". The full quote from the character Kenny Powers is "That sweet tailpipe of yours did have me charmed. It put a spell on me. But all the ass-magic in Mexico can’t change Kenny Powers from his core beliefs. I’m not an ass man... I’m a tit man. I like big-ass boobs. Now, and forever... I’m not like a black guy, Vida."